The Girl and the Gargoyle: Book Two of The Girl and the Raven Series (2 page)

Sheldon and Bernard
. My fingers start to tingle. Heat races down my arms. I could blast him right now. Torch his car. Better yet, I could torch his birthday present. I funnel the heat to my fingertips.

The foyer door opens behind me.
Crap
. I gulp in air and tamp down hard on the heat.

“Lucy?” Sheldon calls out. He sounds nervous. I can’t blame him. For all he knows, Jude will drive me bonkers, just like Momma.

My uncles stand on the front porch, both wringing their hands.

I turn back to Jude, my tone sharp as a knife. “My uncles want to meet you. I’m supposed to invite you in for breakfast. If you screw this up for me…if you harm them in any way, I—”

“I would be delighted.” In the blink of an eye, he’s out of the car. Way too eager.

I notice his window is still down. I glance up at the sky, hoping for a storm to come and ruin the interior of his expensive vehicle.

Jude strides ahead of me and thrusts his hand out to Sheldon. I follow like an afterthought, my insides frothing as if I’ve just made a deal with the devil, which, actually, I have.

“Sheldon Meyers. Vera’s brother.” Jude smiles broadly as they shake hands. “It’s great to meet you.” He turns to Bernard. “And you must be Sheldon’s partner, Bernard Goldman. You’ve done a wonderful job with Lucy. She adores you both.”

Charisma pours off Jude in waves, coating my uncles and sucking them in. They fall all over each other, grinning as they quickly usher Jude inside. This is not the Jude I know and don’t love. These aren’t the uncles I know and do love, either, treating Jude as if he’s some hotshot celebrity. I’m embarrassed for them, and I’m angry at Jude for making them act this way.

Jude pauses in the living room. His attention lingers on every single detail—the built-in bookcases loaded with books and knickknacks, the framed artwork, some of which is older than me. Some of this stuff belonged to Gram. I wonder if Jude recognizes anything.

“I hope you’ll stay for breakfast,” Bernard gushes.

“We’ve made an egg casserole, but if there is something else you prefer, we can whip it up in no time,” Sheldon adds.

Jude isn’t listening. His gaze locks on a series of framed photos arranged on the far wall—Gram and Grampa looking serious, standing tall and stiff, Momma goofing around, making her younger brother, Zack, laugh. Momma was fourteen in this photo. Sheldon tells me sometimes I wear her same smile.

The photo of Momma riding on Sheldon’s back when she was eight is one of my favorites. So is the black and white shot of Gram and Uncle Zack. Bernard took this candid picture one night when Zack, who was around eleven at the time, danced with Gram in the living room of the old house while listening to records. They both wore carefree smiles. Gram told me once that with most boys, that was the age they stopped wanting anything to do with their mom. Zack was different. He never liked being far from her. Her eyes had filled with tears. They always did when she talked about him.

A spot on Jude’s temple throbs. He leans in, as if drawn to the photographs. He doesn’t blink or breathe. I touch his arm, zapping him in the process. He tears his attention from the photographs. His gaze meets mine, black and threatening. His lips curl down into a hellish snarl before he turns away and follows my uncles into the kitchen.

Something in those photos upset him. A tremor of terror ripples down my back. It’s never a good thing when Jude’s upset.

Chapter Two

“Great. Just great,” Jude grumbles under his breath as he eyeballs Marcus in the kitchen.

“Marcus…this is Jude Morgan,” I talk over Jude, trying to keep the edge from my voice.

Will Jude play along? What if he tells my uncles that we first bumped into each other the day I arrived in Chicago, that we’ve met several times since then? My uncles would kill me. Or worse, they’d give me that look, the one where Sheldon cocks his head, his hazel eyes large and full of hurt. Bernard would simply focus on something else, like the sink full of dishes, the weight of disappointment causing his posture to bow.

I glance at Marcus, hoping he’ll give me that secret smile, the one that says everything will be all right. No such luck. He looks like a tightly wound spring about to buck loose at any moment. Guilt slams into me immediately. I have no right to expect Marcus to comfort me when he’s miserable. I follow his scowl, which is directed at Jude.

My father sits at our twenty-year-old butcher-block table in a kitchen that is one quarter the size of his, clutching an Earth Day coffee mug. He takes in the old table, the walls covered in green paint and white wainscoting, Gram’s homemade curtains on the window; then his eyes move back to the table. His annoyance at Marcus’s presence evaporates. He’s basking like a contented cat in a ray of sunshine.

Sheldon clears his throat. “So, Jude, I’m puzzled that you’re just coming into Lucy’s life now.”

Jude nods. “I understand your concern. Vera, Lucy’s grandmother, made it quite clear she didn’t want me to be part of Lucy’s life. I attribute that to the fallout between Donna and me. There were hard feelings.” He takes a sip of his coffee, then another. His temple throbs again. The happiness I witnessed moments ago is gone. His posture grows rigid. The grip on his coffee cup tightens. “They kept me from my daughter.”

I eye my uncles nervously.

Marcus stirs. I can see he’s dying to call Jude out. His face flushes with the effort it takes to keep his mouth shut and his spasms under control.

“I was given bits of information through the years. I suppose I should be grateful for that.” He turns to me, his dark gaze softening a bit. I force a smile. I need to keep his mood as light as possible. “All I ask is to be a part of your life now.”

“But a car?” Bernard’s face twists with disbelief. “I—we—get that you probably want to make up for lost time, but that’s pretty extravagant.”

“Never mind that I’ve been working and saving up to buy my own car.” I want to make it clear that I don’t need his help.

Jude suppresses a smile. “Bernard…Sheldon. Lucy is sixteen years old. I would feel better knowing she had a dependable car. I know Lucy’s safety is as important to you as it is to me.” There it is again. Charm. Loads of it. And that tone of voice as if he, Sheldon, and Bernard are all on the same team, fighting the same cause. I can see my uncles are buying it, too.

Jude wants to keep me safe? Kind of a funny statement given that he’s the most dangerous thing in my life. And I suspect my uncles are the opposite of safe now that they’ve made his acquaintance.

Bernard nods, clears his throat again. “But—”

“I am a wealthy man, so this isn’t a hardship for me.” Jude holds his hands together as if in prayer and bows toward my uncles. “Please allow Lucy to accept this gift.”

Something about the way he says the word
please
sounds suspicious. And then it hits me. Jude is hypnotizing my uncles. My fingertips burn.

I slam my hands on the table. “Jude, that’s enough!”

A tiny spark spits off my left index finger and finds its mark on Jude’s hand, distracting him just enough from eye contact with my uncles.

“The egg casserole!” Bernard gasps. He sets his coffee cup down with a thud. Brown liquid sloshes over the rim and spills onto the table. I mop it up and glare at Jude. He shrugs at me, his sly smile still in place.

I don’t want Jude’s present. The last time I accepted a gift from him, he wound up kidnapping my boyfriend. What will this car cost me?

“I’m sorry,” I announce. All faces turn to me. “I can’t accept this. I’m not even close to getting my license.”

Jude smiles. It’s a dangerous smile. Goose bumps break out on my arms.

“It’s bad manners to reject a gift, Lucy,” Jude says evenly. His eyes are hard as marbles. I see the warning in them. What is he trying to tell me? Accept the gift or Marcus is no longer safe? Or he will take his anger out on the kids I nanny for? What will he do to my uncles?

“Lucy, say
thank you
,” Sheldon urges, a look of surprise on his face, although whether by my lack of graciousness or by this ridiculously generous gift, I don’t know.

Bernard nods at me.

Marcus’s eyes burn holes through me and I know he’s disappointed by my silence. I can’t imagine the super human effort he’s making right now.

“Thank you,” I say stiffly.

After breakfast, Sheldon, Bernard, and Marcus stand on the porch as I walk Jude to his car. “I can’t believe you were hypnotizing my uncles. Don’t you dare do that again. Ever.”

“So long as they fall in line, it won’t be necessary.” Jude slides into his car. “Speaking of which, I recommend you talk your uncles out of the vacation they’re planning.”

We didn’t talk about the vacation in front of Jude. Then it hits me. He saw the travel brochures.

“That’s my girl,” Jude says. His car purrs to life.

“I am not your girl.”

Once inside, my uncles return to the kitchen to clean up.

“That’s some car,” Bernard says.

“I can’t believe Lucy has to go to the Lexus dealership for a lesson,” Sheldon says.

I grimace as they
ooh
and
ah
over the car.

“Jude was furious when he saw the photos,” I tell Marcus, nodding at the collages on the wall in the living room. “And I’m not allowed to go on vacation with my uncles. Or else.”

“Sorry!” Marcus, pale and sweaty, races from the room.

Chapter Three

“Not my finest moment,” Marcus says an hour later. He paces his apartment, shirtless, his white and gray wings pulled tight against his back. I press my hands against his chest, forcing him to stop.

I jerk my hands away. “You’re burning up.”

“It’s normal.” He shrugs. “Fighting the change causes my body temperature to sky rocket.”

“You should’ve left us and come here. Or gone to the roof. You could’ve changed earlier, and no one would’ve seen you. Why put yourself through that?”

He grimaces. “He’s dangerous, Lucy. Do you really think it’s wise having him anywhere near your uncles? What if they decide they don’t like him and forbid you to see him?”

“You act like I invited him over,” I complain, plunking down on the couch.

Marcus won’t admit it, but this isn’t just about Jude and my uncles. He doesn’t want Jude anywhere near me. And he’s upset about the gift.

“I didn’t want the stupid car,” I mutter.

“It’s not about the car,” he says. “Although it did bug me that you gave in so easily.”

“Like I had a choice. You don’t get it. The whole conversation, the purpose of his visit. It was a veiled threat to me to cooperate.”

Marcus’s stony expression tells me I’m being dense. “Lucy…he was getting to know your uncles—”

I roll my eyes. “Well, duh.”

“No, you don’t understand.” He sits on the couch beside me.

“Getting to know them in a supernatural way. He’s a demon. By the end of the visit, I’m sure he knew things about them that
humans
wouldn’t.”

I don’t like his ominous tone of voice. Nervous laughter bubbles up my throat. “Like what?”

“That their favorite city is San Francisco.” Marcus ticks off on his fingers. “That Sheldon takes high blood pressure medication for which he needs a prescription. They drink a unique brand of coffee, which can only be found at one chain store. Their accounts are held at the bank two blocks from here. They drive an old Volvo, which would need special order parts in the event of repairs.” Marcus’s eyes burn into mine. “If the three of you were to disappear, it wouldn’t take much effort for Jude to find you.”

I suddenly forget how to breathe. “You think Jude picked up on all that?”

“Jude’s brain works like a computer. He absorbs everything, and it’s forever embedded in his head.” Marcus looks at me soberly. “This wasn’t a social call. This was a reconnaissance mission.”

* * * *

“Good morning, kiddo,” Sheldon says as he breezes into the kitchen Monday morning. I pause with a spoonful of Cheerios halfway to my mouth, gauging his tone. Faux cheerful—not good. That means a lecture is soon to follow, and I’m pretty sure Jude will be the topic. I start shoveling cereal into my mouth.

By noon yesterday, suspicion had replaced my uncles’ initial thrill over meeting Jude. There had been hushed conversations between them throughout the day. I tried to ignore it and stay out of the line of fire, but Bernard’s face as he brings the newspaper to the table tells me my avoidance tactics are at an end.

“That was quite a shock meeting your dad yesterday,” Bernard says.

Sheldon sits down next to him. “We need to talk about how much contact he’s going to have with you, Lucy.”

I say nothing but increase my Cheerio shoveling speed.

“Are you happy here…with us?” Sheldon blurts out.

I nearly choke on my breakfast. I look up from my cereal bowl and see how drawn both their faces are. Do they think I would leave them for Jude?

“I’m sorry for not telling you about Jude.” The lies come a little easier than they used to. Whatever it takes to keep my uncles safe. “Because of his history with Momma and how she turned out, I didn’t know how you would react.”